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Regular season NCAA Basketball begins this Friday, so there is no better time to throw out some Bracketology that is sure to be ridiculously wrong in a series of weeks than right now!
I will do my best to keep this updated in a weekly fashion, but as with Power Rankings and other "weekly" articles, they sometimes get neglected in favor of recent or breaking news. As the season goes along I will actually attempt to format them in terms of a bracket that is feasible, but given how early it is, along with the new bracket procedural changes, makes it a tall task to produce that right now.
Each week I will provide an S-Curve (ranking every team from 1-68), and also include: The First Four Out, Last Four In, Automatic Berths, and Conference Team Breakdown. This will provide a good snapshot of who is where, and what type of work needs to be done to get a team from off the bubble and into the Field of 68.
I have done my best to get an accurate preseason field together, relying heavily on the preseason predictions of KenPom (especially for the conference champions). His preseason rankings provide a good idea of how good a team should be, but does not account for transfers and freshmen (other than 5 stars and players ranked in the top 100 of the RSCI). This required some discretion on my part to determine what teams will benefit the most from that.
For example, LSU is ranked 49th in KenPom, but will likely be much higher than that as the year goes along because of their sensational freshman class, led my the No.1 player in the class in Ben Simmons.
As the season moves along teams will shift around based on wins, losses, and anything else that may change their status in the bracket (injuries, transfers, off-the-court issues). I will base most of where a team stands off of body of work, as well as talent level to get a bit of a predictive, as well as accurate snapshot of where a team currently is as well.
If there are any recommendations to make this more informative to readers please let me know, as I am always open for suggestions.
Bracketology S-Curve
1. North Carolina (ACC)
2. Kentucky (SEC)
3. Duke
4. Maryland (Big Ten)
5. Virginia
6. Kansas (Big 12)
7. Michigan State
8. Villanova (Big East)
9. Oklahoma
10. Gonzaga (WCC)
11. Wichita State (MVC)
12. Connecticut (American)
13. California (Pac-12)
14. Indiana
15. Arizona
16. Iowa State
17. Baylor
18. Cincinnati
19. Notre Dame
20. Michigan
21. Utah
22. Vanderbilt
23. Miami (FL)
24. Purdue
25. Oregon
26. Georgetown
27. Wisconsin
28. LSU
29. Xavier
30. Butler
31. Louisville
32. Texas
33. Iowa
34. Florida State
35. UCLA
36. Texas A&M
37. North Carolina State
38. Ohio State
39. San Diego State (MW) 40
40. Davidson (A-10) 46
41. UNLV
42. Boise State
43. West Virginia
44. Providence
45. Valparaiso (Horizon) 35
46. Tulsa
47. Dayton
48. Rhode Island
49. Stephen F Austin (Southland) 67
50. Akron (MAC) 75
51. UAB (C-USA) 79
52. Princeton (Ivy) 81
53. Iona (MAAC) 84
54. North Dakota State (Summit) 87
55. Stony Brook (America East) 88
56. Hawaii (Big West) 94
57. Hofstra (CAA) 98
58. Belmont (OVC) 99
59. Louisiana Lafayette (Sun Belt) 101
60. North Florida (A-Sun) 117
61. Lehigh (Patriot) 120
62. Chattanooga (Southern) 123
63. Coastal Carolina (Big South) 132
64. New Mexico State (WAC) 138
65. Montana (Big Sky) 142
66. Mount St. Mary’s (NEC) 179
67. North Carolina Central (MEAC) 202
68. Texas Southern (SWAC) 245
1-Seeds- North Carolina, Kentucky, Duke, Maryland
2-seeds- Virginia, Kansas, Michigan State, Villanova
3-seeds- Oklahoma, Gonzaga, Wichita State, Connecticut
4-seeds- California, Indiana, Arizona, Iowa State
5-seeds- Baylor, Cincinnati, Notre Dame, Michigan
6-seeds- Utah, Vanderbilt, Miami, Purdue,
7-seeds- Oregon, Georgetown, Wisconsin, LSU
8-seeds- Xavier, Butler, Louisville, Texas,
9-seeds- Iowa. FSU, UCLA, Texas A&M,
10-seeds- N.C. State, Ohio State, San Diego State, Davidson,
11-seeds- UNLV, Boise State, West Virginia, Providence,
12-seeds- Valparaiso, Tulsa, Dayton, Rhode Island, Stephen F. Austin, Akron,
13-seeds- UAB, Princeton, Iona, North Dakota State,
14-seeds- Stony Brook, Hawai’i , Hofstra, Belmont,
15-seeds- Louisiana Lafayette, North Florida, Lehigh, Chattanooga,
16-seeds- Coastal Carolina, New Mexico State, Montana, Mount St. Mary’s, North Carolina Central, Texas Southern
Last Four In: Providence, Tulsa, Dayton, Rhode Island
Last Four Out: Syracuse, Georgia, BYU, Marquette
Breakdown By Conference
ACC (8): UNC, Duke, Virginia, Notre Dame, Miami, Louisville, Florida State, NC State
Big 10 (8): Maryland, Michigan State, Indiana, Michigan, Purdue, Wisconsin, Iowa, Ohio State
Big 12 (6): Kansas, Oklahoma, Iowa State, Baylor, Texas, West Virginia
Big East (5): Villanova, Georgetown, Xavier, Butler, Providence
Pac-12 (5): California, Arizona, Utah, Oregon, UCLA
SEC (4): Kentucky, Vanderbilt, LSU, Texas A&M
Atlantic 10 (3): Davison, Dayton, Rhode Island
Mountain West (3): San Diego State, UNLV, Boise State
American (3): Connecticut, Cincinnati, Tulsa
One Bid Leagues (23): Wichita State (MVC), Gonzaga (WCC), Valparaiso (Horizon), SF Austin (Southland), Akron (MAC), UAB (C-USA), Princeton (Ivy), Iona (MAAC), NDSU (Summit), Stony Brook (America East), Hawaii (Big West), Hofstra (CAA), Belmont (OVC), UL-Lafayette (Sun Belt), North Florida (A-Sun), Lehigh (Patriot), Chattanooga (Southern), Coastal Carolina (Big South), NMSU (WAC), Montana (Big Sky) Mount Saint Mary’s (NEC), NC Central (MEAC), Texas Southern (SWAC)